Though sometimes overlooked, your Volkswagen/Audi/Porsche/BMW automatic transmission is far from a “set it and forget it” item on your vehicle. This vital piece of machinery is essential to your daily driving experience and sometimes can lend itself cumbersome when not serviced properly. It is easy to overlook, as you do not think past putting the car in “Drive” or “Park”.
When people think AWD and Quattro, they think 4 wheel drive…”Oh, it’s like a truck”. In reality, this only partially correct. The AWD system on majority of the Volkswagen family cars proves itself time and time again in rough weather conditions, snow, sleet, mud, and anything you can throw at it. What people don’t know is…the Haldex system is actually primarily FWD biased. This means instead of the car using all four wheels permanently, it actually primarily uses the front wheels. It only shifts power to the back wheels when a multitude of sensors detects slip or traction loss and then pushes power to the back. Though this might seem undesirable, the vehicle’s computer does a great job managing this. There are far more pro’s then con’s do this system such as better fuel economy.
Alike the engine in your vehicle, this automatic gearbox (haldex) carries its own set of maintenance cycle intervals. Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and BMW all recommend fluid change for the automatic transmission. From our experience, depending on your driving style (cough cough, people that launch your car frequently) this may be a little bit too long of an interval! Proper inspection of the pump, fluids, modules, and more are done frequently by our technicians during your service here at USP Euro Car Care. If you have any further questions, feel free to ask one of our service managers!
